Pickled Cherries

Enjoy the deep rich flavor of cherries with a little "zing".  The hardest part of this recipe is pitting and stemming the cherries - be prepared for stained fingernails!   I used a few drops of hot sauce instead of red pepper flakes and I substituted cardamon pods for coriander seeds.  I also added a pinch of salt.  This recipe is from Bon Appetit, June 2011

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
• 1 large rosemary sprig

Preparation

• Bring first 5 ingredients and 3/4 cup water to a boil in a medium stainless-steel saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar.
• Reduce heat to medium; simmer 5 minutes.
• Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain into a medium bowl; return liquid to pan.
• Add cherries and rosemary to saucepan.
• Simmer until cherries are tender, 3-5 minutes.
• Transfer cherries and rosemary to a 1-qt. mason jar.
• Pour in enough pickling liquid to cover cherries.
• Cover and chill.
•  Can be made 1 month ahead. Keep refrigerated. Strain before serving.

Tomato and Sweet Corn Pie

Awesome use of fresh tomatoes, onions, corn, and basil from the farmers market! This recipe is adapted from The Best Remedy (previously Eat Make Read).

Serves 6

1 9-inch pie shell (I definitely recommend homemade - try this recipe with white flour or this one with spelt or whole wheat flour)

2 yellow onions, sliced and caramelized (recipe here)

3 cups tomatoes - either 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved, or 3-4 regular tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, and roughly chopped

2 ears of corn, kernels removed, about 2 cups1/4 cup basil (about 8 leaves), sliced

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated (or a combo of cheeses - gruyere, monterrey jack, or mozarella would all be good)

1/2 cup mayonnaise (if you're not a mayonnaise person, you could try greek yogurt mixed with a small amount of white vinegar)

1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Sriracha

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you’ll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

3. Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with caramelized onions. Spread the chopped tomatoes and corn over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes and corn.

4. In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Sriracha, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.

5. Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, about 35 minutes.

Hamburger Nests   

modified  from “Simply the Best” Weight Watchers cookbook

Though we don't eat very much meat, this recipe is a family favorite.  We especially enjoy the hamburger nests as snacks the next day. 

12 slices of bread (whole-wheat or white)

1 pound ground beef or beef/turkey mixture

1 finely chopped onion

3 T bread crumbs

1-2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 minced garlic cloves

¼ t. pepper

½ t. salt

add other seasonings to taste

½-1 cup barbecue sauce (I prefer home-made sauce)

½-1 cup shredded cheese

• Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
• Place 1 slice of bread into each muffin cup, pressing firmly to mold into the shape of the cup.
• In medium bowl, combine meat, onion, bread crumbs, eggs, garlic, salt, pepper, spices
• Spoon meat mixture evenly into bread-lined muffin cups
• Top each with a dollop of barbecue sauce and a sprinkling of cheese.
• Bake at 350 until the meat is cooked through and browned, about 25 minutes.

You'll never make Scrambled Eggs the same way again

I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit last month and was intrigued. Could a new method really produce a different kind of scrambled eggs? YES. These scrambled eggs are unlike any I've ever made - soft, rich, melt-in-your mouth. I'll never make scrambled eggs the same way again.

"The Softest Scramble"

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

4 large eggs

1 1/2 Tbsp. tablespoons chilled unsalted butter

Cayenne pepper

Kosher salt

PREPARATION

Combine eggs and butter in a small room-temperature saucepan and season lightly with cayenne and salt. Place over medium-low heat and cook, whisking gently and constantly while scraping bottom and sides of pan, until eggs are just thickened, creamy, and small curds begin to form, 3–4 minutes total. (If mixture begins to stick to pan while cooking, remove from heat; whisk gently for 30 seconds, then continue cooking over heat.) Remove from heat. Season with salt; divide among small bowls.

Almond-Chocolate Pudding Cake

Modified from Have your Cake and Eat It Too. This cake is one of our absolute family favorites. The cake appears glazed on top and has deep rich gooey chocolate pudding underneath. VERY SIMPLE and very popular with guests.

1 c. sugar, divided

1 cup white flour

¼ t. salt

2 t. baking powder

¼ c. canola oil

½ c. low- or no-fat milk

1t. vanilla

½ t. almond extract

¼ c. unsweetened cocoa

1 c. boiling water

Coat 8” square cake pan with cooking spray.

Combine ½ c. sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.

Whisk in oil, milk, and both extracts.

The batter will be quite stiff.

Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Stir together cocoa and remaining ½ c. sugar.

Sprinkle this mixture over the batter.

Pour boiling water over the batter. Do not stir.

Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the top of the cake looks crisp and crackled and a cake tester inserted into a “cakey” area comes out clean.

Cool for about 5 minutes.

Serve warm from the baking pan.

Honey Yogurt Scones (from The Fiddlehead Cookbook)

Scones are often heavy and dense, but these are light and fluffy (and fairly healthy). Probably the best scones I've ever tasted.

Prep Time: 15 Min

Baking Time: 15 Min

Yields 6 Scones

Ingredients:
4 Tbls butter
1 Tbls honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt (or sub sour cream or buttermilk)
1 egg
1 3/4 cups unbleached flour (or decrease to 1 1/2 cups flour and add 1/4 cup whole wheat or graham flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup dried currants, dried cherries, pecans, raisins, blueberries, strawberries, or other fruit/nut combination

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place race in center of oven.

Melt together butter and honey in a small glass bowl in microwave, or in a small pan on stove over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in yogurt and egg.

In a medium-size bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in currants or other substitutes.

Pour egg mixture over flour mixture and, using a fork, very gently cut together just until dough is beginning to come together but is not quite completely combined.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat into a 6-inch circle. Fold dough in half and pat out again. Repeat two to three more times, taking care not to overwork or knead dough.

Pat into a 1-inch thick circle (about 6 inches in diameter) and cut into 6 wedges.

Place on an ungreased baking pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

Remove from oven and serve immediately with lots of butter and homemade jam!

Thai Red Curry with Winter Squash

I had an amazing pumpkin curry at a Thai restaurant in Seattle a few months ago and have been wanting to recreate it at home. A cooking date with a few friends from school was the perfect excuse to find a recipe. And the recipe I found is AWESOME.

Jenna, of Eat, Live, Run, wrote about the recipe, "Seriously, I wanted to drink this sauce with a straw. It’s definitely the closet to “authentic” Thai curry I’ve ever gotten at home. You must make this!!!" I knew I had to give it a try. It was not hard to pull together, although it did require some ingredients that I didn't have on hand and had to get at the local Asian supermarket. You can find her original recipe here.

Thai Red Curry with Winter Squash

serves 4

Time: 1.25 hours (includes time to roast the squash)

Ingredients:

1 large kabocha, butternut, or other orange-fleshed squash

1 large handful green beans, cut in half OR 1 small zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces

1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced

2 kaffir lime leaves, torn

6 Thai basil leaves, chopped

1 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp red thai curry paste (make sure you get one that says, "red thai curry paste", not just a thai curry paste that appears to be red-colored)

1 (15-oz) can coconut milk

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

2 red thai chilies, pierced several times with a knife

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle olive oil on a foil lined sheet tray. Slice squash in half, remove seeds (you can roast them later!), and place cut-side down on the sheet tray. Roast squash halves for about 30 minutes until tender. Remove and let cool completely.

2. In a large pot or deep pan, heat the canola oil over medium high heat. Add the curry paste and mash into hot oil so all the paste gets incorporated. Slowly drizzle in the coconut milk, whisking continuously until all milk has been added and no curry “clumps” remain.

3. Add water, torn kaffir lime leaves, thai basil, fish sauce, brown sugar and chilies and bring to a simmer. Add bell peppers and green beans or zucchini and continue simmering sauce for about 15 minutes until vegetables are just cooked but not mushy.

Peel or slice kabocha squash away from peel. Chop into large chunks and add to the curry sauce.

Serve curry over jasmine rice (don’t eat the chilies!).